{"product_id":"material-dreams-southern-california-through-the-1920s-9780195044874","title":"Material Dreams: Southern California Through the 1920s","description":"Kevin Starr is the foremost chronicler of the California dream and indeed one of the finest narrative historians writing today on any subject. The first two installments of his monumental cultural history, Americans and the California Dream, have been hailed as mature, well-proportioned\u003cbr\u003eand marvelously diverse (and diverting) (\u003cem\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e) and rich in details and alive with interesting, and sometimes incredible people (\u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/em\u003e). Now, in \u003cem\u003eMaterial Dreams\u003c\/em\u003e, Starr turns to one of the most vibrant decades in the Golden State's history, the 1920s, when\u003cbr\u003esome two million Americans migrated to California, the vast majority settling in or around Los Angeles. \u003cbr\u003eIn a lively and eminently readable narrative, Starr reveals how Los Angeles arose almost defiantly on a site lacking many of the advantages required for urban development, creating itself out of sheer will, the Great Gatsby of American cities. He describes how William Ellsworth Smyth, the Peter the\u003cbr\u003eHermit of the Irrigation Crusade, the self-educated, Irish engineer William Mulholland (who built the main aquaducts to Los Angeles), and George Chaffey (who diverted the Colorado River, transforming desert into the lush Imperial Valley) brought life-supporting water to the arid South. He examines\u003cbr\u003ethe discovery of oil, the boosters and land developers, the evangelists (such as Bob Shuler, the Methodist Savanarola of Los Angeles, and Aimee Semple McPherson), and countless other colorful figures of the period. There are also fascinating sections on the city's architecture the impact of the\u003cbr\u003eautomobile on city planning, the Hollywood film community, the L.A. literati, and much more.\u003cbr\u003eBy the end of the decade, Los Angeles had tripled in population and become the fifth largest city in the nation. In \u003cem\u003eMaterial Dreams\u003c\/em\u003e, Starr captures this explosive growth in a narrative tour de force that combines wide-ranging scholarship with captivating prose.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kevin Starr\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/12\/1990\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 496\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.94lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.38h x 6.32w x 1.38d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780195044874\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/1989\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKevin Starr\u003c\/strong\u003e is the author of the series \u003cem\u003eAmericans and the California Dream\u003c\/em\u003e, including the previously published \u003cem\u003eAmericans and the California Dream, 1850-1915\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eInventing the Dream: California through the Progressive Era\u003c\/em\u003e. The next installment is \u003cem\u003eThe Dream Endures: California through the Great\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eDepression\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis title is not returnable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press, USA","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":40189590962291,"sku":"9.7802E+12","price":70.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_311f9b1c-5274-4512-b4b0-741c76753d14.jpg?v=1655816856","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/material-dreams-southern-california-through-the-1920s-9780195044874","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}